Berry, Caden T

Hiya! Well, this is it! The end. I've got a story to share. So we needed to get to Bristol so we could get to the temple the next day. As I packed everything for the journey, I got the impression to take the SIM card, but I ignored it. I figured that things would be fine, as we were only picking up the Elders in Cardiff and then going to Bristol like I had done several times. We can use the Sat Nav on the car. I did not realize, however, that Harry Styles pulled up to Cardiff for a show and shut down most of the roads near the city center. We could not figure out how to get to the Elders' flat. We drove all around aimlessly, trying to find a way through, but just couldn't. To make matters worse, the only free Wi-Fi is in the town center, so we can't find any Wi-Fi to orient ourselves or tell the other missionaries our location. We decided that we had no other option than to park illegally in a reserved spot and try to stop someone on the street to borrow their phone and...

Hiya! I ticked another item off my mission list. We met with a man this week (The one from Patagonia in the previous email), and we got talking and found out he is the head pastor at 3 Welsh-speaking churches in the area. That is his job. He let us into his Chapel, and we got to look around. It was quite something. On the top of the building (much like our temples), was inscribed the word "Zion". But yeah, it was cool to teach a Welsh Pastor. Don't really see much happening with him though. We also taught Wendy again this week, and this time she cried when she shared about the Plan of Salvation. She is so sweet and humble, and we look forward to continuing to teach her. I pray she joins the church; she would be so good. On Wednesday, we had what I call "Old Person Game Night" at the chapel. Since our congregation is so old (average age of 60), we had an activity with really simple pub games, which included bowls, 9-pins ring toss, and darts. Surprisingly enough,...

Hiya! On the way to town on Tuesday, a lad put his hazards on and pulled his car over to the side of the road near us. We were confused. He rolled his window down and said that he moved from Patagonia and only spoke Welsh. He asked if we could teach him English, and then we got his number. Did you know that there were Welsh speakers in Patagonia? Neither did I. He clearly knew who we were. So that was cool. As well, we taught that lady from last week, Wendy. She was so welcoming and had us in her lovely home. I guess I have gotten used to teaching the lower class of society, so I was a bit taken back to be able to teach a friend inside a pretty nice home who was interested the whole time. The lesson went great! She couldn't come to church because of a hospital visit to her father, but she has kept in touch with us, and we are gonna teach her again tomorrow. The next day, we had AP exchanges, and whilst in town, Elder Hansen told me about a memorial marking the first LDS church in L...

Hiya! Tuesday of this week was trash. We were out on the streets for hours and had no success. We stopped by people and tracted with no success as well. Later that day, we had a lesson and the person we were gonna teach left as we started, and then that evening we drove up to youth only to find it was all canceled. I was so frustrated, I forced myself to smile for the car journey back home until I was in pain. I felt better though, lol. The next day, we went up to Merthyr for exchanges, and I ended up joining Elder Evans for some service. This crazy lady needed her lawn "mowed." So we arrived and came to the back garden, and the grass is literally over my head. There are massive weeds growing several feet high and random children's toys thrown everywhere. All we had was a Strimmer (for which we had to buy the string). I went up to the lady we were doing it for and asked: "This grass looks a bit tall for a strimmer. Do you have a machete?" She said she did not, a...

Hiya! Well, this is it, the final transfer. One marvelous thing is that this is all coming full circle. My companion is, once again, Elder Gowans from Swindon. He is my favorite companion, and with him by my side, we did amazing work in Swindon. As well, I started my mission in this area in quarantine. I am now going to end it here. As soon as I left quarantine, I went to Swansea and was companion with Elder Barry. He was my very first exchange. Now, nearly 2 years later, Elder Barry's younger brother has begun his mission in the SAME area. And I was his very first exchange this past week. I told President all of this, and he said that he didn't even realize it. The Lord is incredible. The work of Llanelli has taken a hard hit. We have taught only 2 lessons within this transfer so far. However, there is a bright side as always. The weather is great, the district is great, and my testimony of The Lord Jesus Christ burns strong within. Things got especially real because I had my ...

Hiya! Hope you all are doing well. I have had some good lessons these past two weeks. Lots of time to find as well. On the way, I have had some good sights, and the weather is getting a little warmer. Still not warm enough for a T-shirt though. I went to Merthyr Tydfil this past week on exchanges. Merthyr is where the church was born in Wales, and all the members know it. It is the only congregation in the entire mission to have two wards meet in one building. The people are very friendly, and the land was beautiful. I visited Thornbury Close (aka Mormon Street. Everyone on the street was baptized when the gospel was first preached), and David O. McKay's mum's house was near it as well. Yesterday, I went out to the Milford Haven branch for church and had the opportunity to check out St. David's Cathedral, probably one of the most famous cathedrals in the UK. It was also cool because a less active member came to church as well and wants her two children to be taught for bapt...